More vegan food options at WUR

RE: Petition for more vegan food on campus

Dear Wageningen University & Research,

We, the undersigned, urge Wageningen University & Research to live up to its image as the ‘third most sustainable university in the world’ by providing its students, professors, and other faculty members with more environmentally-friendly food, namely vegan options, on campus. There is a clear consensus on the relationship between animal agriculture and climate change, with other adverse impacts of rearing animals for food ranging from deforestation to soil degradation to ocean acidification to biodiversity loss and far beyond. Eating a plant-based meal should be possible for anyone wishing to do so, and as a university oriented towards sustainability WUR should provide vegan options for those of us wishing to eat vegan on campus.

We are asking you to practice what the university preaches and provide us with sustainability, through food. We would like to see at least one plant-based warm meal and a plant-based sandwich or wrap provided at each catering facility on campus so that people wanting to eat vegan food can have an adequate meal instead of having to bring their own provisions from home every day. The change we are asking for is not radical, it will not alienate students or force anyone to consume foods they do not want to consume. What it will do, however, is enable those who want to pursue a vegan diet to be able to do so on campus. We are asking Wageningen University to live up to its promise of sustainability and extend it to bridge the gap between the present and a future in which we are able to choose for a plant-based meal in the cafeteria if we so desire.

Thank you for your time and consideration.